Quixplaned: origin of the viral lettuce jokes after Truss' resignation

The news of Liz Truss resigning as UK PM merely 45 days after assuming the post sent shockwaves across the globe.

Soon after she quit, the social media was flooded with several memes, posts and comments.

Dominant among them were the ones comparing Truss' tenure to that of shelf-life of a lettuce, trending with the hashtag #LizVsLettuce.

But where did the comparison come from?

The Economist magazine in an October 11 column titled 'The Iceberg Lady' described Liz Truss as having the 'shelf-life of a lettuce'.

This is the period during which Truss faced severe backlash for low tax cut budget and eventually went on to fire Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.

Inspired by the Economist headline, UK tabloid The Daily Star on October 14 set up a live feed on Twitter and put an unrefrigerated lettuce next to a photo of Truss.

On October 20, as soon as Liz Truss resigned The Daily Star declared the lettuce, which did not wilt in its six days in the spotlight, the winner.

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'The lettuce outlasted Liz Truss,' The Daily Star said in a Twitter thread.

In the final tweet of the thread, the photo of Truss can be seen face-down on the table with colourful lights.

Liz Truss is shortest serving UK PM in history with a tenure of 45 days.